the expert strategies feature is one more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. now get 200 free trades when you open an account. >> steve: if you would like more information about petra's great work with happy hearts, go to clinique.com. >> brian: tomorrow, michelle mal con and mike tyson. >> gretchen: see you tomorrow. bill: 9:00 a.m. good morning. egypt's president under siege after 100,000 protest in the streets. here is your update. president maury * is back in the presidential palace after running from tens of thousands

protesting outside the protest. hosni mubarak was forced out of this same palace two years ago. it's difficult to say which way this story is going to go. it has huge implications. martha: you see these protesters furious for morsi's power grab and his rushing through a new constitution drafted by his muslim brotherhood allies. many fear if it's adhered to it could turn egypt into an islamic state. bill: how close did the protesters get to the president? >> reporter: the protesters got right to the walls of the presidential compound. it's the first time we saw them move from tahrir square.

they broke through the walls protecting the compound. the protesters did not try to scale the walls of that presidential compound and there were no serious injuries reported on either side. despite large scenes of chaos and an angry crowd. bill: what should we watch today? what is critical? >> reporter: we are likely to see a counter protest from those who support morsi. we'll see back and forth protests from both sides. martha: could it be the beginning of calls for a great

municipal bailout? there are great questions raised by a video of a detroit city councilwoman who calls on president obama to bail out her cash-strapped city for payback for their votes. >> after the election of jimmy carter, he went to washington, d.c., he came back with some bacon. that's what you do. our people in an overwhelming way supported the reelection of this president and there ought to be a quid pro quo and you ought to exercise leadership -- of course not just that, but why not. martha: you have got to bring home the bacon according to that councilwoman. many cities and state are in the same situation. will they make the same request

of the president and washington? stuart, what do you think about that piece of tape there? >> finally it has been said in public. the detroit city councilmember saying publicly we deserve a bailout. detroi indeed vote overwhelmingly for president obama. 73% of the vote went for president obama. detroit will probably run out of money within days. the word bankruptcy is being applied to the city of detroit. she says there ought to be a quid pro quo, why not. she is publicly calling for what amounts to a federal bailout. it would be called help for the city, help for the states. but you asked it. who is next. how about california? voted for president obama by 20 point. deeply in debt.

to suggest we need help from d.c., maybe that detroit city councilmember opened up the door for a request for a federal bailout. martha: one of the biggest burdens on the municipality have been the deals the public unions have struck for their workers. we have seen it in places where the promises have been made where there i not the money to support. i there any question the administration -- that the president is open to the idea that the president is open to bail out these municipalities? >> there is no mention so far. but you are right to point out the union connect. president obama's reelect heavily supported by municipal unions and it's the pensions promised to municipal union

workers, that is what is strangling many of the states that are in such dire straight. illinois and california in particular. will quid pro quo be called in by municipal unions like it has been called in by the municipal councilmember. martha: what happens if they don't get it. what happens if there aren't bailouts. >> detroit is bankrupt. other cities have declared bankruptcy. they are gone. it's debatable whether those union pensions are in pact paid. if you are looking over the cliff, the municipal debt and the state debt cliff, you are right on the edge of serious problem for states and cities all across the country. detroit has said we are talking bailout. that's a huge question.

martha: stuart, thank you. it seems like we are standing on a plateau and there are cliffs all around. in 2011, 13 cities filed for bankruptcy. that's the highest annual level we have seen in 20 years. nearly one quarter of all the municipality bankruptcies have come since 2008. stockton, california was a big story. that was the biggest u.s. city to seek protect from creditors and there may be others in the pipeline. bill: negotiations on that fiscal cliff and his first one-on-one television interview since reelection president obama says he will only agree to a deal that raises tax rates on top earners. >> we are not going to simply cut our way to prosperity or cut

our way out of this deficit problem. we are going to need more revenues. in order to do that that start with higher rates for the folk at the top. the reasonien, the reason i say that is not to punish success or go after folk just because they are wealthy. it's a simple proposition that you can't raise enough revenue and if you don't raise enough revenue through closing loopholes abductions, it's going to be middle class families that make up the difference. bill: john boehner will speak later this hour. we'll see how he responds to that comment. if washington can't get a deep, automatic tax increases and massive spending cuts do take effect. martha: west virginia senator joe manchin, a democrat discussing the fiscal cliff,

social security within medicare. he believes they must be run more efficiently. >> last year the office of budget management says $115 billion was misspent. that's a tremendous savings right there. they are both much lower than everyone says we need. all economists say we need a minimum of $4 trillion or greater swing. that means a combining of many things. i think both of them are in the two or not much more than two or lower than two. that only goats you halfway there. i don't know how we got off track of what we really need to fix this. martha: he argues the economy is ready to take off if people would just stop playing the blame game. bill: one of the changes that may be coming is the reduction in the mortgage interest rate duck you can claim. but according to the i.r.s. only

a small percentage of americans claim it after all. all. 37% in maryland and 15% in north dakota. 73 per of americans are opposed to changing that. martha: the owner of popular restaurant chains claims complaints about obama-care have been hurting the company's bottom line. the head of darden says part of the blame is the negative coverage on the company's position on obama-care. we are just beginning on this wednesday morning. dock workers getting back on the

job after a crippling 8-day strike at the port of los angeles and long beach. we'll look at the toll that the work stoppage has taken on the u.s. economy. bill: a questionable cartoon featuring the rich stealing from the middle class. martha: two rising stars in the republican party laid out their vision for the future last night and for their party. >> we need to carry on and keep fighting for the american idea. the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to rise. to escape from poverty. to achieve whatever your god-given talents and hard work enable you to achieve. wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy.

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martha: sad news to report. dame elizabeth murdoch has passed away at 103. she was the mother of rupert her dock. she was surround by her family in her home. she was the generous supporters of so many causes. she devoted her life to helping other people. she was the wife of sir keith murdoch. she was the mother to four people, including rupert murdoch. she is survived by 77 direct descendants, including 50 great grandchildren and 6 great-great grandchildren. rupert murdoch says his mother will be mourned by countless

australians whose lives she has touched. her energy and personal commitment made our country a more hopeful place and she'll be missed by many. bill: what a life. martha: 77 direct descendants is remarkable. bill: remember the good times, they are all good times. 16 minutes past the hour. an 8-day strike that brought two of the nation's busiest ports to a grinding halt is over. a tentative deal brokered by l.a.'s mayor means the clerks are set to return to work today. >> we took on these challenges

and tonight we are able to reach an agreement. my 10,000 long shore workers in the ports of l.a.-long beach will start moving cargo on these ships. bill: this strike had a huge impact on the national economy. these two ports have a 44% of the nation's sea cargo. it includes cars out of japan and china. john fund, coauthor of the book "who's counting." you want a raise? you want a clerical worker? the money is pretty good. $87,000 a year. $105,000 with a compensation package. one of the top u.s. blue collar jobs. >> the outrageous thing about this strike is this.

the port owners were willing to say all the clerks will have lifetime employment. but if someone retires we want the flexibility to move their job around or eliminate their position and the union said no. these clerks basically still use paper invoices to make sure the cargo moves clearly. a lot of that can be automated. these jobs, $165,000 are apparently forever. as a result of that we had this unnecessary strike and it cost a billion dollars a day and the price of toys may go up on christmas. >> this was not about benefits, vacation or pensions or salary. it was about the job of these clerks monitoring the port car go and their jobs are going to be guaranteed for life. but they wouldn't be allowed to replace them or eliminate those jobs once they retired.

bill: so the debate was about what happens in the future. if you had a job as a clerical worker you are okay for a lifetime. >> the union positions often get transferred to sons and daughters so we are talking about family legacies. bill: this is economic hostage. >> when half the cargo goes through los angeles and long beach i have the economy by the short hairs if you want to strike. whether and spend a billion dollars a day on waste, the mayor was able to get the port authority to cave in. bill: you think the unions would have lost had they gone to mediation. when the mayor said we are going to bring in the mediators they got a deal. >> the unions did not want to mediate. i think any mediator would have said you are kidding me.

we are talking about jobs in the future? this was a political solution to an economic problem. bill: $1 billion a day is huge. you are saying the costs of presence or gifts or merchandise could go higher? >> stores need product to come in at a certain time. this strike lasted 8 days. this will disrupt the supply pipeline and it could mean higher prices down the road because somebody has to pay for expedited shipping and supply disruptions. it's not free. bill: they pass it on to the consumer. martha: to syria where there is nowhere to hide for syria's president. why the man behind a brutal crackdown on his own people appears to be running out of options. bill: a mother and child trapped

underneath a car and the heroic act of good samaritans that saved their lives. >> the woman was under the car with her baby.

bill report job sector citi group announces 11,000 job cuts. it says it wants to save expenses and overhead. it breaks down to 4% of its entire workforce. 11,000 layoffs coming for citi group. let's go overseas as the world community warns the syrian president against using chemical weapons on its own people. the options may be running out

for bashar al-asaad. the u.n. says there may be nowhere for him to run at this point. is there a chance he may quietly seek asylum? >> reporter: a few months ago president assad said in a television interview he would never leave syria nor seek asylum. that position is apparently changing. he's said to be seeking asylum in cuba or ecuador. it is not clear whether these are just rumors or actual reports. we are hearing this from second hands coming out of damascus. but there is some evidence that the assad regime does feel like its back is up against the wall. so these taken with reports of their chemical weapons being prepared. it feels like the assad regime

is look at its options getting out. >> it feels like there is a rumbling and things may be shifting. how much shifting are the rebels taking in terms of taking back those areas they lost. >> we are hearing opposition groups in syria that the rebels are making progress. rebels have recently taken over several key military bases in syria away from the syrian military. and when the syrian military tries to launch a counterattack they are repelled by rebels. bill: there was a controversial cartoon demonizing the wealthy. this is the teacher's union explaining trickle down economics. it's what happens next in the

cartoon that you will find shocking. martha: what you can't see in that picture is unbelievable. the new faces they are being called of the republican party. paul ryan, the vp nominee and marco rubio begin to lay out their visions for the future. >> the problems are the same. but the old ways won't do. we need new thinking and renews efforts from all americans. ♪ the weather outside is frightful ♪ ♪ but the fire is so delightful ♪ nothing melts away the cold like a hot, delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup from campbell's. ♪ let it snow, let it snow

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bill: two of the republican party's rising stars laying out their vision for the future. senator marco rubio explained why the battle to stop tax increases is so vital to the country. >> this isn't about a pledge or protecting millionaires or billionaires. to me it's that the tax increases he wants would fail to make a small dent in the debt but it will hurt small businesses and the people who work for them. over half of the private sector workers in america work for the companies his taxes focus on. bill: should we expect anything different from americans ahead of the next election?

>> reporter: they stuck with the general limited themes of the republicans but they were trying to appeal to a wider audience. most of congressman ryan's speech included building a safety net. and ryan made clear he's proud of the campaign he and mitt romney ran. but he also subtly and indirectly disstansd himself from the comment romney made about the 47% of the americans perceived to be democratic because they rely on the government. >> both parties tend to divide america into our voters and their voters. republicans must steer clear of that trap. we need to speak to the aspirations -- we must speak to

the aspirations and anxieties of every american. i believe we can turn on the engines of upper mobility so that no one is left out from the promise of america. >> reporter: senator rubio said he thinks the promise of tomorrow is with hotel workers, landscapers and late-night january towards. senator rubio says he doesn't thing lower-income americans are looking for handouts. he thinks they are looking for jobs so they can provide for their families. >> government has a role to play and we should be sure it does its part. but it's a supporting role to help create the conditions to create prosperity. it can't substitute for a thriving free economy. >> reporter: senator rubio says the federal government could do more equipping the

americans with skills for 21st century middle class jobs. martha: in california, one of the nation's largest teacher's unions is pushing to raise taxes on wealthy americans with a controversial new cute cartoon thing they put out. the california federation of teachers wants to highlight the inequality that exists in the u.s. economy. i don't think this deserves a warning but it's clearly in questionable taste. >> when ordinary people wondered why rich people need so much money, they said don't worry. this is good for, too. it will trickle down to you and then the rules we made for us will be your rules, too.

martha: the rich person is peeing on the poor people in that video. the average teacher earns $70,000 a year. let's bring in tucker carlson and alan colmes. is that something you want to align yourself with? >> i have to work hard on getting outrages, 5 seconds out of an 8-minute video it's a cartoon. it's a metaphor. maybe we should be mad at the person to invented trickle down. martha: it' a classy organization that puts out a video like that. >> that's 5 seconds out of an 8-minute video. i do urge people at the risk of perpetuating this video.

you might want to check it out. tucker, i know you spoke about this last night. one of the thing they say they want to do is to show people how we arrived at this moment of poorly funded public services and widening economic inequality. that's their goal here. they want to explain exactly how that happened. >> there are certain warnings when you have to feel sorry for alan colmes. that was a valiant effort to defend the indefensible. the most troubling part is it's trouble and ludicrous. this wasn't put out by the steam fitters. this is put out by the teachers unions. these are the people educating our children. these are the people in whose hands we place the future of our country. they are passion on things that aren't just dishonest. that people get rich from tax cuts. but beneath them, they are side.

this is bad economics. it's horrifying that any teacher in a classroom today believes any of this. >> trickle down does not work. trickle up works. the president is putting money in the pockets of those who will spend it. that why he has done small business tax cuts. trickle down we learned since the 80s with reagan, it does not work. martha: when i was a kid i learned the preamble to the constitution by watching "schoolhouse rock." this is -- it is so blatantly -- the phrase in here where he says the rich man shrugs his shoulders and says why should i care about other non-rich people. do you really think it's worth perpetuating the notion that people who are successful don't care about people who aren't

successful? >> this is a cartoon that uses hyperbole to make a point and it's a little over the top. as a result, we need a fairer distribution of income in this country. it wouldn't be a tax raise to go back to the sun set provision which we were supposed to honor over 9 years. the bush tax cuts were only supposed to last for 9 years because we would have big deficits after that. martha: why not just say that. because that would be an argument. this is pandering to the most base element of class divisiveness. >> i can't get all upset about a cartoon. >> you could make an important argument about the distribution of wealth in the country and argue the bush tax cuts -- but this is an attempt to tell people you are poor because someone else is rich. you are poor because someone

hates you. >> this is getting attention. >> it hasn't. there are plenty of ways to talk about it. plenty of smart people do talk about it. this is trying too convince the less fortunate that they are the victims of a plot by rich people. it's voiced over by a certified rich guy ed asner. >> they realize they should be paying more into the system. >> they could pay their entire salary to the government and they don't. >> we are talking about simply taking the top 2% and reverting back to what we were supposed to honor, the sun set provision in the tax cut. martha: i understand your point and it's valid to have a conversation about that. this is something totally different and i think they need to take another look at it.

we'll see you next week. thanks, guys. let's take a closer look at california's tax rate. the top individual tax rate was 10.3%. the second highest in the nation. due to a new proposition that was just passed that number is going to jump to 13.3% for top earners. perhaps this sentiment seems to be working in the golden state. which also has a corporate tax rate of 8.84%. which is why you don't see companies clamoring to open businesses in the state. pill * a lot of debt. martha: mr. grant from the "mary tyler moore show"? he voiced over that. he lives in france. bill: new concerns the u.s. is running out of doctors at a time

when obama-care will put millions of americans into the system. our fox news medical a-team doctor on what needs to happen there. martha: they were trapped under a car struggling to breathe and split second heroics saved theof lives of her mother and child. of pepto-bismol to-go.

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martha: this year was so big the honor went to two words, capitalism and socialism. the web traffic of people looking up the definition of socialism and capitalism doubled

last year. bill: i guess we call that fair and balanced. consult your dictionary. new questions on whether the white house is ignoring the islamic power grab in egypt. the new constitution pushed through by mohamed morsi gives himself sweeping powers. lieutenant colonel ralph peters, thank you for coming here. the white house said they discussed a broad range of issues. i don't know what that means but you say they are down playing

this for a reason. why is that? >> the white house is very, very embarrassed. it's got a bad case of strategic add. it took its eye off the ball in libya and took its eye off the ball in egypt, figuring everything was fine. it's at sea, a sea of sand on syria. but specifically in egypt, the administration want quiet and wants to focus on its domestic agenda. so it's giving a pass to president morsi who is turning into a dictator who is ramming through a constitution that while it does not specify sharia law as the ruling factor nonetheless has various clauses that take the country toward sharia law over the coming years. i think they are embarrassed. we can't change egypt. but we give them well over $1

billion in aid a year and we can play on the margins. bill: many people think egypt is the next iran if morsi continues on the path he's on. do we cut off aid in this case? >> the bod i language, the tone suggests the white house is willing to go along with morsi. the reason morsi and the muslim brotherhood are pushing this through so swiftly is because the egyptian economy is tanking. tourism has almost zeroed out. when was the last time you bought a product manufactured in egypt. beyond the religion except for the real he can realists, what the poor of egypt want is a job. they want economic improvements and morsi knows he can't deliver on a reasonable time frame so he's ramming through this constitution hell for leather because he can do it now and wouldn't be able to do it later. bill: i was surprised 100,000

people came back into the streets. that's a strong statement against what he is doing. but the implications for that entire region, if egypt continues along this path are enormous. he fled the palace yesterday. that was the word that was used. whether he just went home for the night. but you say an arab culture, that's a big deal. why? >> he's perceived as having fled. demonstrators feel they drove him out an left in a panic. this is a macho surface effects culture. egypt remains the pivotal arab country. so the future of egypt is even more important than syria. so i'm concerned about real violence in the streets. the muslim brotherhood is extremely well organized. and the key question is how will the security forces react? bill: 15 seconds or less, does the muslim brotherhood win this

battle? >> yes. bill: that will have huge implications on our country and our policy in that region for years to come. ralph peters. martha: she has lit up the silver screen for years but could ashley judd be looking for a major new roll in politic? bill: president bush back in the spotlight in a major speech. >> america is a nation of immigrants. immigrants have helped build the country that we have become. and immigrants can help build a dynamic tomorrow. i just use my bank of america debit or credit card when i pay. and i get as much as 15% cash back -- put into my account. this is cash back on top of other rewards i already get. best of all -- it's free. happy holidays. [ male announcer ] introducing bankamerideals, free for online banking customers.

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bill: will actress ashley judd run for u.s. senate? this goes home to the home state of kentucky. she has no experience in politics. currently lives outside of kentucky. but the political watchers says she could raise a lot of money. rand paul was asked about this. he said i thought she lived in scotland. martha: an incredible story of split-second heroics possibly saving the lives of a mother and her child. they were hit by a car. the impact opinioned them under the car with life-threatening injuries. rick is here with more on this. >> reporter: if the car is small enough and you have 10 people strong enough you can lift that car. a mother and her three small children crossing the street were hit by a vehicle.

her twin 4-year-old boys weren't struck but the woman and her 2-year-old daughter were trapped under the car. >> the lady was on her side, had the baby in her arms. i tried to removed the infant from the lady's arms but she was pinned under and i couldn't remove her. >> reporter: other rushes in and lifted the car on the count of three. >> i figured if we didn't get the car off immediately there would be issues of breathing. i hollered at the folks around. >> reporter: the kia's driver actually pulled the woman and her daughter out. they are in the hospital but expected to make a full recovery. martha: the police say they want the good samaritans to get the credit. >> reporter: these people left soon after the incident.

but cops tracked some of them down. >> it was horrific. the woman was under the car. with her baby. >> just knowing that we possibly did help the little girl and her mom is a nice feeling to know that they are going to be okay. >> reporter: police say people were practically knocking each other over to jump in there and are calls these people heroes. bill: a classified briefing on the libyan terror attack. we'll talk to a republican senator, kelly ayotte who has been leading the charge to get the victims' families answers they still do not have.

have.

martha: a fox news alert to capitol hill. a classified briefing on benghazi is code you would -- scheduled to get underway right now. a members only meeting in the house with the country's top intelligence officer at the helm at that. a brand new hour in "america's newsroom." we're glad to the have you with us on this wednesday. i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. james clapper and officials from other agencies meeting with these law makers after increasing pressure out of congress for answers and nearly three months after the four americans were murdered. martha: we're joined by chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge. she joins us live from capitol hill. what do we hope to learn today, catherine? >> reporter: good morning. last time we had a briefing on the hill for all the members of the house was the

first week of september right after the attack or rather the second week of september and today we also expect all the major players including the nation's top intelligence officer, james clapper, the director of national intelligence, the head of the national counterterrorism center, he is the top counterterrorism official, matt olsen and patrick kennedy. these individuals will take lawmakers through every phase of the attack the intelligence leading up to the assault on the consulate in benghazi on 9/11. the security posture at that time. the analysis of the intelligence. and why there was an emphasis on this anti-islam video that turned out to be wrong for such a long period of time. finally the military response. lawmakers tell fox they want to have specifics on the level of premeditation by the terrorists and whether in fact there was a direct connection to the 9/11 date. >> the question is, how much planning went into this? was this months in the works? was this cobbled together quickly within a matter of a

few hours? it makes a great difference in terms of the responsibility as well as the vulnerability of our facilities elsewhere. one of the important questions, if this was planned well in advance, why didn't we catch it? why didn't we see it coming? >> reporter: critics of the administration's response say every time we have briefing like this they're more inconsistencies that in fact they raise more questions as well. i would point to the issue over the cia talking points and these decisions to make changes that critics say really minimize the role of al qaeda and affiliated groups in this attack, martha. martha: certainly got the right people in the room to answer a lot of those questions. we'll see if they get anywhere conclusive today. you know one of the big issues that has been raised by all of this of course, catherine, is our intelligence on the ground in benghazi. what are we learning about the future of that annex and our presence there? >> reporter: fox news has learned that the decision to close the cia annex and to destroy all of the

classified information and move out the classified communications equipment came within 12 hours, 12 hours of the at dark -- attack on the consulate itself and early morning september 12th, by 8:00 local time, effectively the cia operation in benghazi was shuttered. all the classified information was moved or burned as well as the equipment and this was a decision fox was told was made on the ground. then there was notification to washington. it is important to look at this particular data point and contrast it with how long it took the fbi to get into the consulate. that took several weeks. in fact the u.s. consulate in benghazi has never been secured by the united states, martha. martha: wow! great points, catherine the thank you very much. >> reporter: you're welcome. bill: the families demanding answers. the father of one of the former navy seals killed that day leading the charge on this saying he is hearing nothing from the government on what happened to his son. coming up today we'll ask senator kelly ayotte says

the families do not have the answers on what happened to their loved ones. we'll talk to her in 25 minutes. the president continues to defend u.n. ambassador susan rice. once considered a frontrunner for secretary state until what happened in benghazi. >> make sure we have a full national security team that can give me the best advice possible and do everything they can to keep the american people safe. and susan rice has done a great job as u.n. ambassador about a decision on secretary of state. bill: that from bloomberg tv. president making a decision in weeks maybe days some suggest but martha. martha: iran has prove it captured a surveillance drone. the top lawmaker failing to specify what evidence that is saying the government will release more information. the islamic republic said

yesterday it captured the drone after it entered the airspace in the persian gulf. the u.s. says all the drones in the region are fully accounted for. bill: we have knew developments out of north korea. we talked about the story yesterday. we're learning that the rogue nation just finished installing a long range rocket on its launch pad and may now be only days away from firing it. greg palkot live from london covering it there. trips to north korea. what are you hearing? >> reporter: we're hear the launch could happen as early as monday. our sources on the ground in south korea backing up what we're hearing from the media in the region. they're saying that the three stage rocket is now assembled at the launch site in the northwestern part of the country. if the fueling is finished by the end of the weekend the launch could happen between december 10 and december 12. that is the first three days of the launch window. that would follow a pattern what we saw when we were last there for the failed

launch in april. now like then, north korea says this is all for peaceful purposes. they just want to put up a satellite. others say it is really a cover to test a missile to launch a nuclear payload which is why we're seeing that region on high alert. japan deploying patriot missiles. south korea revving up a brand new israeli-made missile defense radar system. both countries promise to shoot down anything that might go astray, bill. bill: wow! what is the north korean government saying about it this time, greg? >> reporter: all means a lot to the new young leader kim jong-un. it is meant to mark the first anniversary of the death of his father, kim jong-il and mark the end of the year which is supposed to show the impoverished nation is on its way to be strong and prosperous. we're seeing pongyang manage the message more than usual domestically and internationally. my contacts say this country could very well call the launch successful whatever

happens. secretary of state hillary clinton is in europe this week at a meeting in nato in brussels. her message is pretty clear. it wants north korea to stop this. if this missile works, bill, the range could be over 6,000 miles. that would put whatever it is launching in the payload in the range of los angeles. bill: greg palkot, watching that out of london. six minutes past. >> this is not north korea's first attempt at this. since 1998 the country has conducted four long-range missile tests. all of them failed out over the ocean. in that time u.s. sources estimate that north korea has developed over 800 medium-range missiles. a number of short-range missiles as well including antiship cruise missiles. bill: president obama will sit down with the nation's top ceos in washington today for new talks on how to avoid the fiscal cliff. the president plans to deliver remarks and answer questions during a meeting

of a business roundtable. critics say the president will call on business leaders to press lawmakers about raising the debt ceiling. while that is happening we expect to hear from house speaker john boehner any moment right now on the hill for the latest on what's happening on fiscal matters. martha? martha: meanwhile, there are new evacuations that have been ordered in a community where a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed nearly a week ago. 100 families told they have to leave their homes in new jersey near philadelphia. they have to play it safe until the last of the hazard does gas is removed. >> what we'll do we'll pump liquid in that dissolves the vinyl chloride. we'll pump that liquid back out into the highway truck. we have a derailment of hazardous of materials over and in a waterway and a community adjacent to it, right next to it. martha: the rail line is paying for hotel rooms and

other expenses for 200 people not able to go home. the families as you can imagine, especially this time of year are really frustrated. >> what is available in technology today it is inexcusable the way this information is coming out to the public. their frustration is legitimate. martha: they hope they will have people back in their homes by sunday. good luck with that. bill: from a cash-strapped detroit, michigan. we shared this with you last hour. this is city council member pleading on behalf of the white house to deliver the goods for detroit to help it out with, help the city out with its current economic situation. have a listen to what was said in part and we'll explain more. >> after the election of jimmy carter mayor coleman alexander young, he went to washington, d.c. he came back with some bacon. that's what you do. that's what you do. this is, our people in after

overwhelmingly supported the re-election of this president. there ought to be a quid pro quo and you also exercise leadership on that. of course not just that but why not? bill: so this is something that is being debated today. we talked about it last hour with stuart varney. what stuart's point was, if you start with detroit where do you end? if you go west into illinois, further west into california there is economic trouble all over the american landscape. martha: once you start pulling on the string a whole lot will fall apart. bill: that comment there is the suggestion that more stimulus dollars are needed and expected by some out of washington, d.c.. martha: you know what? some might say there has been a precedent for that. the first round of stimulus was full of all kinds of goodies for people who perhaps, garnered some favors based on support for the first time. bill: very telling too about the economic reality in places like detroit, michigan. a place that has been carpe

carpet-bombed with bad news going back decades. martha: there ought to be a quid pro quo in her opinion. we'll see what happens with that. very interesting story this morning as well about former president bush who made a rare public appearance. in it he stressed the importance of immigration in this country. watch. >> not only do immigrants help build our economy, they invigorate our soul. growing up here in texas like many in this room we've had the honor and privilege of meeting newly arrived. those who i have met love their families. martha: so we've had the honor of meeting the newly-arrived as he called the immigrants to this nations who he came to know in his time in texas where he still lives. this is a big question about his role looking forward. could he light the way for an issue that has been very tough for republicans in the past? bill: also the parents of a college student who disappeared more than a year ago now saying their daughter's friends are hiding something. martha: an attempted robbery

caught on tape but instead of the green that he was hoping for, the guy ended up black and blue. >> what were you thinking there? >> nothing. i just, i don't like nobody near my face or near my territory. my impulse is to protect myself. in what world do potat, bacon and cheese add up to 100 calories? your world. ♪ [ whispers ] real bacon... creamy cheese... 100 calories... [ chef ] ma'am [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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bill: here is the end result of that challenge. a new judge appointed now in the trial of fort hood shooting suspect major nidal hasan. the judge was kicked off the case and replaced with u.s. army colonel tara osborne. the trial has been on hold since march. the previous judge was ousted because the defense claims he was biased against hasan because he would not shave. he faces the death penalty if convicted in the 2009 shootings that killed 13 and wounded more than two dozen in fort hood, texas. martha: former president george w. bush is now urging lawmakers to have a meaningful debate on immigration reform.

here is president bush during a rare public appearance yesterday. >> america can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time. as our nation debates the proper course of action relating to immigration, i hope we do so with a benevolent spirit and keep in mind the contribution of immigrants. martha: calling on people to do so with a benevolent spirit. no doubt speaking in part to politicians in washington as they take on this issue and his own party because back in 2004 president bush earned 44% of the latino vote but republicans have slipped significantly since then. last year's election in just this november, governor romney pulled in 27%. it was a group that they knew they were having issues with really all along and the numbers were not good as you can see on election night. let's bring in our great panel today to talk about this. brad blakeman served as

deputy assistant to president george w. bush and gem my green, president of women woman's center and fox news contributor. good to have you both. >> good morning. martha: brad, president bush has been very much under the radar. he always said that is the way he wanted to be as the former president but are we seeing perhaps emergence of a new bush legacy in this? talk to me what he said yesterday and what you see as the potential role in all of this? >> what he did yesterday he raised an issue front and center in a problem not only in our economy but in our social fabric as a society. we have an immigration problem. we have 12 million illegal immigrants in america that must be dealt with. we secure our borders. we have e-verify to verify the employment. we have to deal with status of those who are here. we shouldn't be demonizing illegal immigration. we should be trying to fix the problem and what you saw yesterday the compassionate conservative president bush.

somebody who understands the compassion of a tough problem but is willing to work across the aisle as he did with no child left behind in education. martha: right. >> and realize tough problems have to be dealt ratiod benevolently using his own words. you will see him coming to the front every once in a while. you notice he didn't dictate a policy. he talked about the issue with a solution. martha: gem my, jeb bush is on the is on the rise. george p. bush, president bush's nephew, do you see a role for the bush family bridging this gap? >> absolutely, martha. president bush and his family could not be more right. earlier in the presidential election we saw governor jeb bush trying to move his party in the right direction on immigration reform. unfortunately for governor romney that didn't happen.

this used to a bipartisan issue. the d.r.e.a.m. act was sponsored by orrin hatch, john mccain supported it. then we moved in the direction. i agree absolutely with brad, immigrants were being demonized and vilified. we moved from where it was aspirational, i'm a first generation american. people started talking about first general americans at anchor babies. we moved from a place where you were looking at a aspiring citizens to calling them illegal aliens. we have to move back from that and thank goodness. thank goodness president bush is taking the lead on this. martha: there needs to be a debate this country over what the role should be in terms of what the hopes and dreams are for all americans. and i want to just play this piece last night. there was a big dinner. paul ryan was there and marco rubio was there in honor of jack kemp.

i want to play a little bit of this from marco rubio, senator from florida. >> our story is not rare in america. but it is rare in the world. had we been born almost anywhere else at any other time in history our lives would have been very different. i probably would have been a very opinionated bartender for example. [laughter] martha: great line from prub rube. pointing out the exceptionalism of america, which became, you know, sort of a controversial phrase. he appealing to hispanic voters but to everybody. >> absolutely. there has to be a pathway for citizenship for 12 million that are here. america was complicit in them coming here. we had porous borders and jobs that needed to be done. we just can't say that they came here illegally and america should have stopped them. while it is true maybe we should have stopped them from coming in they're here and we have to provide a

legal pathway, whether it takes a decade to do it. what we need to do is implement the system by which they can become legal without denying the rights to those who are in the process. martha: very interesting conversation we'll be having in the coming months and years. thank you so much. jemhu, thanks, brad. bill: moments ago on capitol hill we were awaiting this. house speaker john boehner and the latest update on negotiations or lack thereof on the fiscal cliff. let's go to this right now. moments ago on the hill. hear is the speaker. >> morning, everyone. this week we made a good faith offer to avert the fiscal crisis and, that offer included significant spending cuts and reforms, and it included additional revenue and frankly it was the balanced approach that the president's been asking for. now we need a response from

the white house. we can't sit here and negotiate with ourselves. our targets and framework are things that we can all agree on. and it's exactly how we approached our discussions in the biden group. my discussions at the white house a year and a half ago. and for that matter, in the joint select commit teach. and if the president doesn't agree with our proposal and our outline i think he has an obligation to send one to the congress and a plan that can pass both chambers of commerce. if you looked at the plans the white house talked about thus far, they couldn't pass either house of the congress. we're ready and eager to talk to the president and to work with him to make sure that the american people aren't disadvantaged by what's happening here in washington. bill: john boehner, direct, to the point. you need a plan that can

pass both the house and the senate. that's where we are right now on the fiscal cliff. december 5th is it? there it is on the calendar. quick break more of what eric cantor said just moments ago.

martha: during his 42 years in congress brooks is best known for voting to significantly cut government spending and to pass several historic laws including the civil rights act of 1964. what a life. jack brooks, dead at 89. bill: 25 minutes past the hour. there could soon be a major shortage of primary care doctors. the journal of the medical american association says 22% of internal medicine residents are planning to become internal medicine doctors. what does this mean to you? marc siegl joins us now with the latest on this. doctor, nice to see you. >> good to see you. bill: what does it mean. >> i want to explain to our views out there exactly what an internal medicine doctor is. we always talk about primary care. primary care is a pediatrician, obstetrician, gynecologist for

women's health, family practitioner or a general internist, which is what i am. someone who does the internal organs of the pwaopbd say body and says i'm not going to become a lung specialist, i'm going to stay as a general doctor. you're sick, you're having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, i'm the guy you see. people need doctors like that. without doctors like that what are we going to do? there was another study two years ago, the american college of physicians determined that 17% of general internists that start out that way leave. they say i do not want to do that, i can't afford to do that. 60% of what i do is involved in no fee. paperwork, submitting claims, figuring out how to get the office running, all of the business of medicine. bill: all great votes, instead of pursuing primary care they are becoming specialists and there's got to be a reason for

that. why are they going in that direction? >> well a couple of reasons. this study said that 22% of going to general medicine the others are becoming cardiologists, specialists. why, it pays better. you have one skill to master and you master it and that's your pride and what's what you do. if you have many skills to master and you're not sure you'll even get paid for it, you're the person who is taking care of the patient, the primary responsibility, that gets harder and harder to do the more the tests you order are turned down, the more you face liability, the more you're not getting paid. bill: internal medicine, salary about $219,000 a year. dermatologists 386,000. cardiologist, 4 22,000. now you see the attraction and the money is much greater. the reality is that there is a prediction that we could be 50,000 primary care physicians short of the needs of american patients because of all the new people who will be covered

through obama care. how does this factor into that? >> not to mention people that are getting old tk*er, no older. we need more general practitioners we have 180,000 nurse practitioners and more hospital teams that are set up to take care of patients. that may not be all bad, you'll see less the doctor you used to. bill: let's explain this. then. if you're my doctor i don't see you. >> you might not see me. bill: i see someone that works for you. >> you might see a nurse practitioner that i hired. bill: is that a good thing? >> it might be for the particular person, there is a loss in communication. if there is a doctor you're used to seeing for ten years there may be a loss in terms of all the information being conveyed forward. the playing field is changing. i marc siegl are staying where i am. doctors are joining hospital groups, going on salary, giving up outpatient practice, private

practice. bill: your point is well-taken about a changing world, it's happening right now, medicine is changing. >> under our feet. bill: good to see you, doctor. >> good to see you, bill. martha: all right. only at foxnews.com today seven things that scare your doctor with obama care on the horizon, go to the home page and click on the link with that story about what keeps doctors like dr. marc siegl up at night. you can doe to foxnews.com for that. coming up here the search for a missing little girl, a cancer patient taken from the hospital by her mom, reportedly taken to mexico could the child's mother end up facing charges for taking her daughter out of that hospital without the doctors knowing? a legal panel on that. and the father of one benghazi attack victim saying that the white house is 100% conversation up what happened. next, senator kelly ayotte joins

us in newsroom. >> it is clear from the beginning we knew that those with ties to al-qaida were involved in the eye tack on the embassy, and clearly the impression of the information given to the american people was wrong.

martha: a lot of the leadership and the players in these fiscal cliff discussions coming to the microphones moments ago. here is eric cantor, here is what he said. >> we have not had any

discussion and any specific w-s thispecifics with this president about the real problem which is spending. we have got to do something about the spending. an obsession to raise taxes is not going to solve the problem. what will solve the problem is doing something about the entitlements, taking on the wasteful spending in washington. we can't just keep borrowing money and raising taxes and roblem to go away. that is our point to the president. as the speaker said, we want to sit down with the president waoerbgs wan, we want to talk spefrs. w specifics. we put an offer on the table. he out of hand rejected that. where are the specifics, and the discussions, nothing is going on. meanwhile people of this country are the ones who suffer. we ask the president, be specific about the spending, so we can address the wasteful spending in washington and address the problem. martha: eric cantor and john boehner saying they want a

face-to-face, they want to sit down, roll up their sleeves and hammer out something. kevin mccarthy went to the cameras right after that, he said there are 72 hours extremely critical in this fight that are coming right now. also i want to mention one other thing and that is just crossing from nancy pelosi who says that she does not think that the debt ceiling issue is part of this fiscal cliff discussion, which is interesting, because that is different than the plan that timothy geithner brought forth. in his plan they were going to try to raise the debt ceiling indefinitely. he said it would be terrible for them to have to go back and ask permission to continue the raise the debt ceiling because owe thinks it makes the creditworthiness of the united states in play and jeopardy. an interesting development from nancy pelosi. who knows whether or not she is central to the debate going on right now. bill: there will be another briefing on benghazi. the families of the four americans killed in that attack almost three months ago say they

are still in the dark about what happened to their loved ones. the father of tyrone woods one of the former navy seals saying he learned more from witness accounts about how his son died than he did from the white house. new hampshire senator kelly ayotte member of the house services committee and the budget committee. welcome back to "america's newsroom." >> good morning, bill. bill: do the families have any more answers now about how these four died? >> unfortunately, no. we had four brave americans that were murdered. my heart goes out to those families. they deserve answers. we still don't know why that wasn't more secure given two prior attacks on the consulate, given the security requests, given that the british had left, the red cross had left. it should have been secured or we should have closed the consulate, they deserve answer toeranswers to that. they deserve answers to a seven

hour take, why we didn't have anyone there to help those that were there. and to hold those accountable, the terrorists who committed the attack. bill: senator, what is the hold up? >> the hold up is we are to the getting answers from the administration unfortunately. we have not heard testimony yet from secretary clinton a key player in all of this. we have been pursuing answers to questions just on the i shall you've the talking points i had three different stories at least, every time you ask a question you get a different answer, these why i was supporting a select committee from the beginning so we could get everyone together to get the complete picture. right now we are getting dribs and drabs instead of the eve entire information. we have to make sure this doesn't happen again. what went wrong? what can we take from it and make sure we learn lesson is about it and let's told the terrorists act -bl that committed this. bill: what do you know about the level of premeditation about

these terrorist stph-s. >> i still think that those are questions that need to be answers. they showed up a rpg's, mortars and automatic weapons. it take premeditation to show up with weapons like that when you're attacking a consulate. you just don't pull those out of your bag. i think that is important in and of itself. there were prior attacks on the consulate, and so how does that relate to how far in advance they premeditate thed attac premeditated this attack on the consulate. bill: what about the number of suspects in custody? how many can you confirm? >> i cannot confirm right now. we know of course -- bill: any? >> at least one we know of o of course because. jenna: graham pushed for that person to be questioned and had to push for that because the fbi hadn't even talked to him yet. at this point there are still so many questions. obviously i understand why those families are frustrated they have a right to be. bill: we get a lot of questions

from viewers, bya because you asked now. they write this out of kentucky, when is mrs. clinton expected to testify about her role in the benghazi attacks on our consulate. a second question, were there any witnesses that survived the attack and when will we hear their testimony. secretary clinton you mentioned her, will that happen or not? >> she has said she will testify but only after the internal report investigation is done. i think she should testify immediately. but we have not heard her testimony yet and i think that's got to be a priority. when it comes to those witnesses, there were witnesses there. they were interviewed by the fbi. those interview reports have obviously not been made public, first of all, but also my last understanding is that the intelligence committee was still waiting to receive some of those reports. bill: why would they not share that with you? its that a risk. >> i think if they could be shared with me in a classified setting, i review information in

the classified setting all the time and obviously have to protect that information. but most importantly last time the intelligence committee was still looking for that information. bill: so secretary clinton you believe will testify at some point? >> she absolutely has to testify. let's not forget in the mids t-frbgs thst of the election she came forward and said she took responsibility for that. this is a state department, this is a consulate. ambassador stevens worked for the state department. we need to understand why given the prior attacks on that consulate they won't secure it. bill: she has suggested a willingness to appear too. >> i think she has to. bill: it might be on tv if it's public too. >> it's critical that she appear. bill: thank you, kelly ayotte, republican senator there. we will follow this. to our viewers if you have questions, bya, because you asked and the email to hemmer@foxnews.com. or follow me on twitter at

tweet@bill hemmer. get curious about what is in the news today and fire away. lines are open. man, so many questions still. three months down the road. those families. martha: a lot those families need to know. and also on this point we are searching for some answers this morning. the parents of missing 20-year-old college student lawrence spiere says that her friends know more than they are telling them. what can be done to get justice for lauren. bill: packing his bags in a moment. we'll hear from nasa astronaut scott kelly who is literally about to move into outer space for an entire year. how about that for a road trip? ♪ [singing]

martha: the parents of missing college student lauren spiere are saying they are being

stonewalled by the friends she was w the people who last saw their daughter. they say they simply are not talking about what happened that night. she vanished last year after a night of partying at her school, indiana university. indiana authorities say they are actively investigating the 20-year-old girl's disappearance but of course the parents want answers as to what happened to their daughter. i'm joined by keith sullivan, a defense attorney, and tamara holder, fox news legal analyst, welcome to both of you. tamara, mrs. spiere's letter is heart wrenching and you can understand why she is frustrated feeling that these people who were with her, because she went back and forth, she went to a bar, she went over to the friends' house and left there alone. one of the boys said he saw her walk across the grass back over in the direction of her apartment, and then she disappeared, and they feel like these folks know more than they are saying. >> well, i'm sure that they probably do, but it's not the duty of the kids, unfortunately, and this is a tragic statement i'm about to make, but they

don't have any duty to tell the parents exactly what happened for many reasons, because maybe what they say can be used against them later on. it is the duty of the police department, and of investigators to interview these people, to ask them questions, to put the story together, and i think that's where the parents' anger should be placed, towards the investigators, not the people who are potentially involved. martha: keith, do we know how much they have pursued these people to get their story to find out if they know everything they can get from them? >> it appears that they've pursued it more so than the parents are aware. jaime wolf who was the boyfriend of the missing girl claims that he underwent a polygraph examination administered by the police department. the family seems to be unaware that that took place. as far as the polygraphs go i would advice the individuals not to take a polygraph. it's going to do no good. it's a great investigative tool but if you pass it it will never get you off the suspect list, and if you are arrested and indicted it will never exonerate

you. it's considered inadmissible, it's considered junk science. i would advice those kids not to take it. i would go a step further with the mother. i'd tell her to start naming names. if she has specific individuals who she feels are holding things back, like tamara pointed back, they may or may not be and they don't have an obligation to reveal it put some social paper on those individual, put their names in the letter, put it out there publicly. >> that is a risky thing to do. now you're risking opening yourself up to liability or defamation if you name people that are potentially involved in a crime and it didn't occur. martha: i think back to natalee holloway and her mother and how strong here she felt that that young man, joran van der sloot knew what happened, and the people who were with them had more information than they were giving. as a parent it's impossible to imagine when you know that all these people were with her. they went to a bar together, they might know a little bit about who else was there. i have to believe, keith, that

these police, you know, you think they are not doing their job? that seems unlikely, doesn't it? >> i have no reason -- martha: given the focus on this case. >> you're right, i have no reason not to believe that they are not doing everything that they k. it's interesting you bring up the joran van der sloot says and tram a is correct you can be dangerous and bring yourself close to liability but your child is missing and gone. take the risk, put it out there. i'm not saying accusing people of a crime, i'm saying john doe, whoever it may be has not spoken to the police. that is truth. you don't hide behind truth you stand in front of the truth. martha: we have to leave it there. thanks, guys. bill: there is a new ambitious nasa mission. how astronaut scott kelly, the twin brother of mark kelly plans to set a precedent for american space exploration, we'll tell you what that is about. martha: sure they can roll over and play dead but some dogs are also learning to drive. look at that. look at that great picture. we'll explain what is going on with them.

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bill: fox news alert now. the talk is on the economy, all the talk is on jobs and rightly so. members of the american business community, these are ceo's now gathering with the president at roundtable. we will hear remarks from the president. should get an idea about how he's thinking about which way the wind is blowing today especially coming off the heels of eric cantor and john boehner's remarks 30 minutes ago. we'll take you when it happens to the white house. new details surrounding what will be the longest amount of time an american has spent in space during a single space mission.

scott kelly, twin brother of giv gabby gifford's husband mark kelly set to spend an entire year in space. casey stegall drew the short straw, i guess he drew the long straw then. when does this begin. >> reporter: it's quite a privilege and scott kelly talked about this this morning at a press conference that happened down at johnson space center. he says this he's honored because he was on a very long list of very qualified astronauts to carry this out. training starts early next year and the anticipated launch into space will happen in spring of 2015. 48-year-old scott kelly by the way has spent a total of 180 days in space since he joins nasa in 1996. this mission will break many records. it is the longest trip ever to the international space station. kelly will be up there with a russian cast mo astronaut for an entire year bringing his

total days in orbit to 540. the current u.s. record is 381 days. listen. >> i also want to point out people have referred to this as a long duration iss mission, and i want to clear something up, that six months is a long duration mission, six months is a very longtime. if you think back at what you were doing six months ago, you know, it might be hard for you to remember. >> reporter: i was just referencing that press conference. these are live pictures of that press conference in houston at johnson space center that is still underway. scott kelly, that will be his fourth trip to space. his brother mark kelly served as the commander of the final space shuttle endeavor mission, bill knee painte. bill: he painted it with a pretty broad brush. what is he going to be doing there up. >> they will be doing work on

the international space station. they will be studying these two men, more specifically what type of health impact being up in space for a prolonged period of time will have, how space flight will affect the human body. nasa says it's important as the space agency continues to lock at plans to send man to places like mars, and the trip to mars takes a mere eight months to get there. obviously when we do eventually send men all wait up there they are going to be in space for prolonged periods of time, that's why these medical studies and things that are going to be completed on kelly and his russian counterpart are so crucial. bill: indeed they are. thank you, casey. best of luck to him. what a family. >> reporter: absolutely. bill: casey stegall. martha: major obstacles for the key component for the president's healthcare law. texas governor rick perry on why

one of these state is one of the 17 that says no thank you to the national security exchange. we'll be right back. ♪ (announcer) when subaru owners look in the mirror, they see more than themselves. so we celebrate our year-end with the "share the love" event. get a great deal on a new subaru and 250 dollars goes to your choice of five charities. by the end of th, our fifth year, our total can reach almost 25 million dollars. it's a nice reflection on us all. now through january 2nd.